Mariah’s Reemergence

Mariah was pensive today. Granted, she laughed at an episode of Scrubs and Reno 911, smiled at the warm and very handsome Chaplain who dropped by, and grinned like a little kid at an amusement park as she flew on a magic carpet (okay, on a bed sheet) from her wheelchair into her bed with assistance from two strapping nurses. But those moments felt like exceptions, and when I wiped a tear from the corner of her eye early on she said she was having a sad day.

And that tear was followed by another and then several more as the afternoon and evening wore on. Mariah was elegant and graceful throughout, although melancholy. Picking up on her mood, visitors were generally quiet and respectful.

Maybe it’s got something to do with Mariah’s imminent departure from this nest where she’s made dozens of friends and has had a palpable effect on the staff who still drop in to visit her even after they’ve been “rotated” to other wards. Maybe it’s got something to do with discomfort she’s been having for a couple days that might involve her kidneys. Or maybe it’s just a rainy, lonely Sunday afternoon with not much going on for distraction.

As the day languorously metamorphosed into evening, Mariah seemed to take comfort from listening to a CD of Bhutanese nuns making beautiful music.

Who knows?